She hev come in late,"Clayton heard one say,"'n'she oughtn'to shoot.Thar hain't no chance shootin'ag'in her noways,'n'I'm in favor o'barrin'her out."Oh no;let her shoot "-the voice was Raines's."Thar hain't nothin'but a few turkeys left,'n'ye'd better bar out the gun 'stid o'the gal,anyway,fer that gun kin outshoot any-thing in the mountains."The girl had been silently watching the group as if puzzled;and when Raines spoke her face tightened with sudden decision,and she strode swiftly toward them in time to overhear the young mountaineer's last words.
So hit's the gun,is hit,Sherd Raines?
The crowd turned,and Raines shrank a little as the girl faced him with flashing eyes."So hit's the gun,is hit?Hit is a good gun,but ye ought to be ashamed to take all the credit 'way from me.But ef you air so sartain hit's the gun,"she continued,"I'll shoot yourn,'n'y'u kin hev mine ef I don't beat ye with yer own gun.""Good fer you,Easter!"shouted the old mountaineer.
Raines had recovered himself,and was looking at the girl seriously.Several of his companions urged him aloud to accept the challenge,but he paid no heed to them.He seemed to be debating the question with himself,and a moment later he said,quietly:
"'N'you kin hev mine ef I don't beat you."This was all he said,but he kept his eyes fixed on the girl's face;and when,with a defiant glance,she turned toward the mountain women,he followed and stopped her.
"Easter,"Clayton heard him say,in a low,slow voice,"I was tryin'to git ye a chance to shoot,fer ye hev been winnin'so much that it's hard to git up a match when ye air in it."The hard look on the girl's face remained unchanged,and the mountaineer continued,firmly:
"'N'I told the truth;fer ef ye pin me down,I do think hit is the gun.""Jes you wait 'n'see,"answered the girl,shortly,and Raines,after a questioning look,rejoined the group.
"I won't take the gun ef I win it,"he said to them;"but she air gittin'too set up an'proud,'n'I'm goin'to do my best to take her down a bit."There was nothing boastful or malicious in his manner or speech,and nobody doubted that he would win,for there were few marksmen in the mountains his equals,and he would have the advantage of using his own gun.
"Look hyeh,"said a long,thin mountaineer,coming up to the group,"thar ain't but one turkey left,'n'I'd like to know what we air goin'to shoot at ef Sherd 'n'Easter gits a crack at him."In the interest of the match no one had thought of that,and a moment of debate followed,which Clayton ended by stepping forward.
"I'll furnish a turkey for the rest of you,"he said.
The girl turned when he spoke and gave him a quick glance,but averted her eyes instantly.
Clayton's offer was accepted,and the preliminary trial to decide who should shoot first at the turkey was begun.Every detail was watched with increasing interest.A piece of white paper marked with two concentric circles was placed sixty yards away,and Raines won with a bullet in the inner circle.The girl had missed both,and the mountaineer offered her two more shots to accustom herself to the gun.She accepted,and smiled a little triumphantly as she touched the outer circle with one bullet and placed the other almost in the centre.It was plain that the two were evenly matched,and several shouts of approval came from the crowd.
The turkey was hobbled to a stake at the same distance,and both were to fire at its head,with the privilege of shooting at fifty yards if no rest were taken.
Raines shot first without rest,and,as he missed,the girl followed his example.The turkey dozed on in the sunlight,undisturbed by either.The mountaineer was vexed.With his powerful face set determinedly,he lay down flat on the ground,and,resting his rifle over a small log,took an inordinately long and careful aim.The rifle cracked,the turkey bobbed its head unhurt,and the marksman sprang to his feet with an exclamation of surprise and chagrin.As he loaded the gun and gravely handed it to the girl,the excitement grew intense.The crowd pressed close.The stolid faces of the mountaineer women,thrust from their bonnets,became almost eager with interest.Raines,quiet and composed as he was,looked anxious.All eyes followed every movement of the girl as she coolly stretched her long,active figure on the ground,drew her dress close about it,and,throwing her yellow hair over her face to shade her eyes from the slanting sunlight,placed her cheek against the stock of the gun.A long suspense followed.A hush almost of solemnity fell upon the crowd.
"Why don't the gal shoot?"asked a voice,impatiently.
Clayton saw what the matter was,and,stepping toward her,said quietly,"You forgot to set the trigger."The girl's face colored.Again her eye glanced along the barrel,a puff of smoke flew from the gun,and a shout came from every pair of lips as the turkey leaped into the air and fell,beating the ground with its wings.In an instant a young mountaineer had rushed forward and seized it,and,after a glance,dropped it with a yell of triumph.
"Shot plum'through the eyes!"he shouted."Shot plum'through the eyes!
The girl arose,and handed the gun back to Raines.
Keep hit,"he said,steadily."Hit's yourn.""I don't want the gun,"she said,"but I did want that turkey-'n'"-a little tauntingly-"I did want to beat you,Sherd Raines."The mountaineer's face flushed and darkened,but he said nothing.
He took no part in the shooting that followed,and when,after the match was over,the girl,with her rifle on one shoulder and the turkey over the other,turned up the mountain path,Clayton saw him follow her.
